According to the Brinson and Winn article referring to conflict portrayal on talk shows, self-monitoring is at a high level for guests who are exposing their interpersonal arguments. Because of this, their conflict styles are likely inaccurate. The resolution to these conflicts are often absent which poses another issue with the representation of interpersonal conflict on talk shows, according to Brinson and Winn. Since talk shows claim to be authentic, they have a perceived reality. According to Aubrey et al. if a viewer perceives television programs as real, they are more likely to internalize the messages. The messages being received from the Dr. Phil clip would encourage one sided conflict with ultimately no resolution. Successful interpersonal conflict need some sort of resolution.
Talk shows are not unique in their perceived reality or their lack of conflict resolution. Reality TV claims to be authentic but Coyne et al. explains that the situations in which participants are put into often foster interpersonal conflict. Also, producer and audience interference aids in building more dramatic entertainment. So while these shows claim to be real, much like talk shows, their interpersonal conflict representations are not authentic. Again, the perceived reality plays a detrimental role here. Researches Rolloff and Greenberg found that personal conflict styles sometimes mirror those of our favorite television characters. Since most of us will not end up on a popular reality TV show, we should view these conflict styles as strictly entertainment and not strategies to emulate. Also, because many reality TV shows have participants leave through out the show, or get voted off, conflict resolution is not always prevalent. Reality TV and talk shows both display unresolved conflict, and again, conflict resolution is important in our interpersonal relationships.
Prime time television lacks the perceived reality that talk shows and reality TV encompass, however it does not lack popularity. Again, Rolloff and Greenberg's findings of participants matching their conflict styles to those of their favorite television characters could be an issue here. Lauzen and Dozier found that verbal competition was the most popular conflict resolution style on prime time television, followed by physical aggression and verbal cooperation. If we do indeed repeat the conflict styles of our favorite characters, verbal competition would be our go to strategy. Lauzen and Dozier believe that verbal cooperation is a much more civilized and productive conflict strategy and that it is lacking in prime time depictions of same sex conflict. This suggests that the conflict resolution strategies represented by our favorite characters are not necessarily the ones we should be using.
I do not mean to slander popular television. Dr. Phil, Big Brother and New Girl are three of my guilty pleasures. However, I encourage my readers and all television consumers to understand that interpersonal conflict cannot be accurately represented in our favorite programs. With this knowledge, you should view this beloved entertainment as just that, entertainment. Viewing our favorite television programs from this knowledgeable vantage point will prevent us from applying these conflict patterns out of context, into our real life relationships. Within our media-crazy world, please be a critical consumer.
Talk shows are not unique in their perceived reality or their lack of conflict resolution. Reality TV claims to be authentic but Coyne et al. explains that the situations in which participants are put into often foster interpersonal conflict. Also, producer and audience interference aids in building more dramatic entertainment. So while these shows claim to be real, much like talk shows, their interpersonal conflict representations are not authentic. Again, the perceived reality plays a detrimental role here. Researches Rolloff and Greenberg found that personal conflict styles sometimes mirror those of our favorite television characters. Since most of us will not end up on a popular reality TV show, we should view these conflict styles as strictly entertainment and not strategies to emulate. Also, because many reality TV shows have participants leave through out the show, or get voted off, conflict resolution is not always prevalent. Reality TV and talk shows both display unresolved conflict, and again, conflict resolution is important in our interpersonal relationships.
Prime time television lacks the perceived reality that talk shows and reality TV encompass, however it does not lack popularity. Again, Rolloff and Greenberg's findings of participants matching their conflict styles to those of their favorite television characters could be an issue here. Lauzen and Dozier found that verbal competition was the most popular conflict resolution style on prime time television, followed by physical aggression and verbal cooperation. If we do indeed repeat the conflict styles of our favorite characters, verbal competition would be our go to strategy. Lauzen and Dozier believe that verbal cooperation is a much more civilized and productive conflict strategy and that it is lacking in prime time depictions of same sex conflict. This suggests that the conflict resolution strategies represented by our favorite characters are not necessarily the ones we should be using.
I do not mean to slander popular television. Dr. Phil, Big Brother and New Girl are three of my guilty pleasures. However, I encourage my readers and all television consumers to understand that interpersonal conflict cannot be accurately represented in our favorite programs. With this knowledge, you should view this beloved entertainment as just that, entertainment. Viewing our favorite television programs from this knowledgeable vantage point will prevent us from applying these conflict patterns out of context, into our real life relationships. Within our media-crazy world, please be a critical consumer.